Odds and Ends
by webofdreams89
Summary: At every end, there must be a beginning.


o.O.o

Odds and Ends

o.O.o

"I can blow once before you have to go," Sai said, reaching across the bed and grabbing Naruto's arm, attempting without much effort to draw the blond to him.

Naruto sighed. "You know I have to shower and get to the bar. I'll get fired if I'm late again."

Sai laughed hollowly. "Honestly Naruto, you and I both know that you will _never_ get fired from your job. Neji would never fire _you_. Besides, if he throws that much of a bitch fit, just give him a reach around, and I'm sure he'll forget the face that you've _ever_ been late to work."

"Not now Sai, I really need to go. Besides, Sakura is working with me tonight, and I need to be there to keep the animals off of her."

Again, Sai laughed with the same lackluster enthusiasm. "Sakura can take care of herself better than you can. Besides, any guy that goes into that bar already knows that she can take them. It's why so many of them want to sleep with her. But they are all too afraid to do anything about it because she'd kill 'em."

Naruto ignored this, instead brushing off Sai's hand, rolling out of bed and strolling to the bathroom. His shower was quick, having just enough time to slip into questionably clean jeans and a tee before heading out the door. Before he left, Sai slipped his hand down the back of his pants and promised Naruto that he would show up at the bar some time that night. Naruto silently hoped that he wouldn't.

He entered Neji's bar through the front doors, heading immediately behind the bar to slip his hands around Sakura, pulling her flush with his body.

"Hey baby, you ready to get out of here?" he whispered in her ear, ducking when she twisted around, attempting to swat him.

"You're just lucky Lee is completely secure in our relationship," she said, trying to look angry with him.

"No, you're just lucky that I like dick. Otherwise, I would be all over that, Sakura. In an instant."

She knew that she couldn't stay mad at him, her frown cracking and a grin spreading across her entire face. "There was a time when I really wished that you didn't like dick, Naruto, but that is all in the past now. I am _over _you."

"After that passionate night we spent together? I thought we were soul mates, Sakura!" Naruto said, taking an order from one of the regulars.

She just smiled at him, bending under the counter and giving the aforementioned regular a full view of her cleavage. Naruto shot him a glare and the old man quickly averted his eyes.

There had been a time, a few years back, when Naruto and Sakura actually did sleep together. It was after Sasuke had left and they were both feeling desperate for any kind of human contact. One of the nights, when Naruto was at his worst, he even asked her to marry him, promising her that he would be the best husband around.

And he had been, for about six weeks until Sakura realized that Naruto would never, could never love her the way she wanted, the way he still to this day loved Sasuke who had broken his heart.

She filed for an annulment the next business day.

Since their breakup, Naruto began bouncing through guys (Neji, Sai, and back again with the occasional one-nighter). But what he didn't actually realize was that each of them loved Naruto in their own special way. Lee had asked Sakura out the very day the annulment was final and she found herself, surprisingly, saying yes to Lee's offer.

One thing, however, had remained and that was Naruto and Sakura's close friendship. Sakura was there for Naruto when he broke up with Neji (he and Sai were never really ever official in any sense of the word), or Neji broke up with him, and Naruto was there for her when she was feeling depressed or needed someone to talk to.

"So," Sakura began after they were on the job an hour or so, "how's Sai?"

Naruto shot her a look, knowing that she knew exactly how he felt about Sai. "He's fine, just as he always is," he replied somewhat tersely. "An emotionally detached horndog."

"Naruto," she said quickly, "I'm sorry, but you know how I feel. Granted, he is a little out of the ordinary, but he's my friend and I don't think that it is very nice how you are leading him on. He really cares for you, you know."

"I know," he said quietly, eyes glancing down the bar. They landed on a man sitting alone at the far end of the bar, a bottle of water in front of him. He was dressed in a black dress shirt and had a wide brimmed hat pulled low over his face. "Hey Sakura, what's that guy's deal?"

Sakura looked to where Naruto was not-so-subtly pointing at the man. "I don't know," she said. "I've asked him a few times if he wanted anything, and he always said no. Said that he's just waiting for someone."

"Huh," Naruto replied, heading into the cooler to grab some more ice.

On the way, Naruto ran into Neji. "Hello, Naruto," the man said, his opal eyes fixed on Naruto and all Naruto could think about was the way those eyes looked as he came or the way that silky long hair felt against his bare body.

Trying to snap out of it, Naruto smiled as nonchalantly as he could muster. "Hey Neji, how's it going?" he asked.

"Things are fine," Neji replied, putting his hands in the pockets of his slacks. Naruto's eyes lowered to them and all he could think of was Neji's thrusting hips meeting his own, or the way they bucked when he gave him a blow job.

"That's good," Naruto said, forcing himself to grin at the man before him. "Well, I'm just going to get some more ice for the bar."

Just as he began to move past Neji, he felt a hand wrap firmly around his right bicep. "Wait Naruto," Neji said quietly. Naruto turned to look at Neji curiously and saw that the man's eyes were trained on Naruto's.

"I miss you, Naruto," he said barely above a whisper. "I miss being with you."

Naruto wasn't sure who lead who to the office, but before he knew it, he was lying flat on Neji's desk with Neji's face between his legs.

When it was over, Neji stood up and Naruto saw him wipe his mouth with the back of his hand. It was evident that Neji was hard, but he laid a firm hand on Naruto's chest when he moved to reciprocate.

"No Naruto," he said almost solemnly. "I don't want anything from you. I just want you, that's all, but I only want you if you can be fully committed to me, mind, body, and soul.

"But until that day comes, _if_ that day comes, get back to work."

With that, Neji turned around, giving Naruto his privacy as he zipped up his pants and left the room. He quickly grabbed the ice and returned to the bar.

When he returned, Sakura smiled at him wryly. "Took you long enough to get the ice, Naruto. Jeez, we almost ran out."

He leaned to her ear, whispering, "Neji just gave me a blow job!"

"What?!" she said, loudly enough that everyone in the vicinity turned. She ignored them. "Why did he do that?" she asked in a hushed voice.

Naruto told her everything Neji had said, watching as the worry line in Sakura's forehead seemed to deepen with every word that came from his mouth.

"Well Naruto, it seems as if you have a decision to make, doesn't it? Do you love Neji, or do you want to just continue fucking around with Sai, who also loves you but probably doesn't know how to say that he does."

"Sai doesn't love me," Naruto replied quickly, almost as a reflex.

"Of course he doesn't," Sakura replied sarcastically, refilling a leering man's shot glass.

Naruto sighed, moving to dump the bags of ice in the cooler. When he turned around, he found Sakura staring at him, that same worried look on her face. "Look Sakura, it will be okay. I'm a big boy, a man, and I can take care of myself. And I'll, well, I'll-"

"Come up with something?" she finished.

"Yeah," he said with a smile. "How'd you know?"

"Naruto, you always say that. And you never do. You always end up just winging everything."

"That may be true, but I do get through things just fine."

"Naruto, if you weren't as cute as you are, you wouldn't get away with nearly half the stuff that you do now."

He grinned at her. "Well, then it is a _very_ good thing that I _am_ that cute."

o.O.o

The night wore on and customers came and went. Neji had yet to make an appearance which wasn't lost on Kiba, the bar's bouncer. Kiba was engaged to Neji's cousin Hinata, and Neji felt obligated in giving Kiba a job so his cousin's husband-to-be would remain employed while he worked on his degree. Truthfully, the club had already had a bouncer, but Neji figured that he could let Frank watch the door and let Kiba watch the bar. Neji had actually found himself happy hiring a second bouncer. While Frank was a huge dude, Kiba could probably keep people in line better because everyone thought that he was just plain crazy.

Outside of Sakura, Kiba was Naruto's closest friend. When it came to Naruto's sexual preference, they had somewhat of a Don't Ask, Don't Tell policy. It wasn't that Kiba wasn't interested in Naruto's love life and in seeing his friend happy, he just got a little queasy when it came to the logistics of it.

Frequently throughout the night, Kiba would wind up at the bar, begging them for drinks even though he knew Neji would skin him if he was caught.

"Don't you have a job you should be doing, Dog Breath?" Ino, Sakura's second closest friend, asked the man as he leaned on the bar, chitchatting with Naruto.

"Ino," Shikamaru, Ino's boyfriend, halfheartedly admonished. "Just let Kiba go. It's his business if he wants to piss Neji off."

"Yeah Ino, stay out of it," Kiba said.

"Great comeback," Naruto said with a chuckle, patting his friend on the shoulder.

"So where is Neji anyway?" Kiba asked. "Usually he's reamed my ass about eight times by now for nothing."

"Believe me, if Neji reamed your ass, you'd know it," Ino said. "Right Naruto?"

Naruto felt his face flush, and he nearly dropped the bottle of beer he was trying to hand to cute brunette girl who gave him a healthy tip.

"Ino!" Sakura shrieked, swatting her friend.

"Sakura!" Kiba mimicked. "I think my eardrum just exploded."

"What?" Ino asked. "It's true isn't it? Unless Naruto topped while he and Neji dated."

"Ew, Ino, just shut up, would ya?" Kiba said.

"Ino," Shikamaru tried again, not really wishing to expend the energy trying to stop his girlfriend when she was on to something.

"Either way," Ino said, leering at Naruto, "the two of you were the hottest couple around. I don't think it really matters who topped because that much beauty in one couple would have been astounding to watch however it took place."

"And on that note, I think I'll get back to work," Kiba said, quickly backing away from the bar. He grabbed the untouched shot glass that sat in front of Shikamaru and slammed it, setting it back on the counter before getting lost in the crowd.

"Sakura?" Ino asked innocently.

"What?" she asked, looking at her friend, surprised.

"You slept with Naruto. Do you think that he is aggressive enough to be a top in a relationship?" Sakura's face turned beat red.

"Could we _please_ not discuss my sex life anymore?" Naruto asked, almost whining.

"That's all you had to say Naruto," Ino said, smiling suggestively. "No matter what anyone else says, I think you pounded Hyuuga's ass into the mattress each and every time."

o.O.o

Eventually, two o'clock rolled around. The bar had thinned considerably by then, Shikamaru and Ino leaving well over an hour ago. Sai had yet to show up as he said that he would, but Naruto wasn't really all that surprised. Sometimes when he got started on an art project, he lost track of the time completely. Or he could have just been doing strange, Sai-things that Naruto didn't even try to understand most of the time.

"All right everyone, we're closing up, so you know the drill! Get the heck out!" Kiba said from the middle of the floor. Several people ambled toward the door.

Sakura went to the store closet for the broom, so Naruto decided to start on the counter top. Dipping the rag in the bucket of warm soapy water, he began wiping down the counter. It wasn't until he reached the end of the counter, however, that he noticed someone still in the bar.

It was the man he had noticed earlier, the one with the brimmed hat. "Hey buddy," he said to him, "we're closing up so you need to get out of here."

"You going to kick me out, Naruto?" the man asked. Naruto grew still, feeling as if his stomach had just dropped to about the same level as his feet. He knew the voice, had once loved to hear that voice say his name over and over, say his few and far between _I love yous._

_Sasuke…_

A hand shot up from his lap, deftly grabbed the hat and setting it on the counter. Liquid black eyes gazed back at Naruto's startled, wide blue ones.

Sasuke looked much the same as ever, albeit a bit older than the last time Naruto had seen him back when they were still seventeen. But the four years that had passed had treated Sasuke well. His dark, dark eyes looked wiser than ever and Naruto could see that his chest had filled out quite nicely in the passing years.

"Aren't you going to say hello, Naruto?" Sasuke asked.

"W-what are you doing here?" Naruto asked, voice breaking.

"I'm here for you, Naruto. Why else would I be here?" Sasuke asked, his eyes traveling down Naruto's body approvingly. He stood up from his stool and Naruto could see that he had finally passed Sasuke in height and was now, in fact, a good two or so inches taller. Sasuke had to look up to him and, despite this, Naruto still felt uneasy.

The sound of something falling and breaking broke the almost hypnotic reverie Naruto seemed to be under. He turned to his right to see Kiba storming toward them.

"What the hell do you think you're doing here, Uchiha?" he roared, ready to leap over the bar at the slightest provocation.

"It's a free country, Kiba. I am allowed to be here if I wish to be."

"We're closed," Naruto said stupidly, gulping.

"I know," Sasuke said softly, eyes landing back on Naruto's.

"Actually," they heard from the doorway, "this is my bar and I am able serve whomever I like in it. I don't like you, so you are not welcome here anymore. Also, as Naruto has already stated, we are closed."

"I see," Sasuke said, looking over to where Neji and Sakura stood in the doorway. Sakura appeared sick to her stomach, her face turning green. "I'll just be leaving then. Naruto," Sasuke said, his eyes smoldering, "Because Konaha tore my family's property down, I'm staying at the Leaf Inn, room 16. I'll see you soon."

"Like hell you will be!" a voice roared as a shape leapt over the bar, a fist slamming into Sasuke's eye. Only, it wasn't Kiba like Naruto had expected, but Sakura. "Get out of here, Sasuke, and leave Naruto alone."

Sasuke chuckled then. "I see things have changed then, huh Sakura?"

"Things have indeed changed alright," she hissed. "Now. Get. Out."

Holding his eye, Sasuke sent one last look back at Naruto before turning and heading for, and out, the door.

"He was here the whole night," Naruto said faintly. "The whole fucking night."

"What a creep!" Kiba yelled. "He really has some nerve showing up here. He's just lucky Sakura beat me to him. I would have torn that motherfucker apart."

Neji moved forward, laying what was supposed to be a comforting hand on Naruto's shoulder. Naruto, however, jumped at the contact. Neji recoiled somewhat, but kept his hand there. "Are you okay, Naruto?"

"I-I think so," the blond replied, turning his head to look into Neji's concerned eyes. "Or I will be." He took a deep, shaky breath, and everyone could see that he had paled considerably. "I feel like I've just seen a ghost," Naruto whispered, trying to smile at Neji who was still holding onto him, but failing miserably.

"Naruto," Neji finally said, breaking the almost miserable silence that had fallen upon the bar. "Would you like to stay at my place tonight?"

Sakura jumped forth then. "It's really nice of you to offer Neji, but I think that it would probably be better if he stayed with Lee and me."

Neji inclined his head then. "Of course, Sakura," he said, taking a step back from Naruto. "I am in inclined to believe that you are right."

But he looked miserable, Sakura saw, almost as miserable as Naruto. Neji was a man in love with another who was in love with a ghost, and that ghost had been resurrected tonight.

When they had first met Neji in junior high, he was a pompous, arrogant, selfish kid that only cared about achieving his goals and wasn't concerned with who he hurt in the process. But after a good beating from Naruto, one that no one had ever expected him to hand out, Neji had come around. He eventually began hanging out with them and it hadn't taken long for Sakura to watch the once so stoic boy falling in love with her best friend.

And for the most part, Neji was still incredibly stoic. Just not when it came to Naruto. Then you could read the man like an open book.

Sakura witnessed the anguish on Neji's face, realizing that just as he was making real progress with Naruto, his biggest competition, who had been casting an absentee ballot for so many years, had arrived at the playing field once again.

"Neji," Sakura said suddenly, because she had been rooting for Neji for some time now, "why don't you stay over too? I think that it would be a great comfort to us all if you were there. And besides, I know Lee would love to see you."

Neji almost smiled at her then, the corners of his lips gratefully lilting upwards. "I can do that, Sakura, but only if Naruto would like me to." He turned back to Naruto, who still had that thunder-struck look about him.

He absentmindedly smiled at Neji, who was already melting. "Thanks Neji, I would really appreciate it."

Without a word, the four of them (Frank always left when the club closed because he had a couple of children at home with a babysitter) began working to shut the club down for the night. The chairs and barstools were put up on tables, the floor was swept and mopped, taps shut down. Eventually, about an hour later, they were done. Neji put the money in his safe and locked the door.

Naruto, Sakura and Neji said good-bye to Kiba, who was practically running to the car to get home and see Hinata. Because Naruto's apartment was only a few blocks away from the bar, he always walked. Sakura's apartment was a bit further away, roughly fifteen minutes away by car with minimal traffic stops.

Sakura wasn't the only one that encouraged Naruto to walk to work. She would joke around about how walking would keep his body in great shape, especially his ass, but her reasons were actually ran a bit deeper. See, Naruto's car was a beater, there was just no other word for it. Time and again, Naruto's friends would tell him to get a new car, but he always insisted on driving that piece of junk everywhere. Sakura figured if Naruto just walked to work, it was two less times a day he would be driving the car and it was two less times she would have to worry about him. She usually offered him a ride home anyway, which he would accept because of the late hour.

Naruto immediately, almost by instinct, followed Sakura to her car. "Why don't you ride with Neji, Naruto? I'm going to call Lee, and probably won't be much company for the ride."

"Okay Sakura," Naruto said, half-heartedly returning the smile she offered him. Truthfully, she would have rather Naruto ride with her, but she was going to call Lee and fill him in on what had happened so he wouldn't do or say anything to upset Naruto further. Granted, Lee's personality was a bit much sometimes, but he always meant well and was one of the sweetest guys she knew. And he loved her.

Naruto walked a few parking spaces over to Neji's car to find Neji still standing there, watching him. "Riding with me?" he asked, trying his best to sound cheerful and carefree. But that was Naruto's department and he had a feeling that he was failing at it miserably.

"If that's alright," Naruto replied.

"Of course it is, Naruto, you don't even have to ask."

Naruto nodded. "She said she wanted to call Lee and wouldn't be much company for the ride. You know how couples are."

The look Neji gave him then nearly pierced through Naruto. "Yes," he agreed, "I know how couples are."

Without a word, the two of them opened their car doors and sat down. After a minute, Neji followed Sakura out of the parking lot and down the street that would eventually lead to Sakura's apartment building.

Silence filled the car for the first three minutes or so they were on the road. Finally, Neji, trying to break the silence, asked, "So how are classes going, Naruto?"

Because Sasuke had left Naruto right before they were to start classes, Naruto had decided to take a year off. He started the next year. Kiba had also gone the same route, waiting a year to stay with his friend and to make some money in the meantime. Sakura had needed to go to get her mind off of things.

After a completely undecided freshman year, eventually Naruto had decided on a major in Landscape and Exterior Design, with a minor in business management. He wanted to someday open his own landscaping business, maybe starting up greenhouse after a few years if things went well.

"Classes are going good," Naruto replied, grateful for the distraction. "Finals are coming in a few weeks, so I have all of these last minute papers and projects to turn in. But I already finished writing my thesis, but I'm actually ahead of everyone else. They're still struggling to finish theirs."

"I'm glad for you, Naruto. I'm glad that you're a much better student in college than you were in high school."

Naruto laughed then, really laughed, his body shaking. In truth, Neji was just making and observation, Naruto was eager for something comical, something that could take his mind off of recent events.

"I am too, Neji, I am too," he said when his laughter began to die down. "It would have been a bit waste of Iruka's money if I was still the same kind of student I was in high school." Naruto grew pensive for a moment. "We never had much, but he always tried so hard for me, raising me and teaching me and even tutoring me when that didn't work. Sometimes I feel like he doesn't know how much I appreciate everything he's ever done for me."

"He knows, Naruto. Iruka talks about you with such pride that it would be easy for a complete stranger to pick up on how much that he cares for you."

"Yeah, but he's always done so much for me. I mean, he had barely graduated from college when he adopted me. And he was single and had to raise such a wild child by himself."

"You weren't that bad, Naruto, just rambunctious. And Iruka didn't stay single for long, did he?"

"No," Naruto laughed, "Kakashi came along after a few years. He's a bit odd, but he makes Iruka happy (most of the time) so I can't complain. If Iruka is happy, I'm happy."

"Are you, Naruto?" Neji asked, looking at the younger man from the corner of his eye.

"I can pretend," he replied quietly, looking down at his fingers.

When they got caught at a red light, Neji laid his hand atop Naruto's. "I know this is not the right time to say this, especially after everything that has happened tonight, but I think that I can make you happy, Naruto," he said sincerely.

Naruto's blue, blue eyes shot up to meet Neji's. "I know you can," Naruto admitted. "But can I make you happy, Neji?

Neji laughed then. "You already do, Naruto. I am very happy just being around you everyday. I would be devastated if you decided to work somewhere else because it would mean that I couldn't see you everyday."

"But you always seem so miserable all the time-"

"I'm not," Neji quickly said. "I can't be if you are around."

Naruto smiled slightly.

Neji wanted to kick himself for asking, but there was one thing that he had to know, whether it broke the mood or not. "What are you going to do about Sasuke? I have a feeling that he isn't just passing through town."

But Naruto's smile didn't even waver this time. "Maybe not," he began, "but in a few days, when things have died down some, I'd like it if we gave us a try again."

"And Sai?"

"I'll tell him that it's over."

Unable to control himself, Neji leaned across to the passenger side and kissed Naruto fully on the mouth. After a moment, a loud car horn broke the silence. Neji pulled away, face flushed but smiling, and hit the gas.

o.O.o

After staying at the Leaf Inn for more than six days without so much as a phone call from Naruto, Sasuke finally admitted to himself that Naruto was never going to come.


End file.
